Modification of the Environment (Essay Sample)

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Modification of the Environment
Throughout history, human beings have been modifying their physical environments through rock and soil excavation, creating artificial ground and generating waste. Through physical modification of the properties and shape of the ground, humans have sculpted and transformed the environment making them geomorphological and geological agents (Price et al.). These have been adaptations which human beings have found necessary through the modification of the land, building of structures and removing vegetation. Such alterations have had consequences that have lasted even in modern times. The main factors that cause such modification is for settlement, urbanization and industrialization (Price et al.). The actions include; over-population, over-grazing, pollution, and excessive extraction of raw materials. The consequences on the environment have variations in intensity over duration of time.
In Asian countries like Japan, China and Korea have modified their physical environments to enable the development of highly productive agricultural systems. However, consumerism and industrialization have brought on alarm as the resources become depleted (Wang et al.). More specifically, China both modified the land and built a structure famously known as the Great Wall. The Great Wall of China was constructed for the protection of the nation. This protection has been achieved for many years making it a great symbol of culture for the Chinese people and gaining the country foreign profits as a tourist attraction (Wang et al.). The wall is 3000 miles long offering protection as originally intended.
China is also a very populous nation needing a lot of food. For more food production, there was a need for increased farmlands. China utilized terrace farming and land modification through planting on mountain and hill sides (Verburg and YouQi Chen). Through this, there was an increase in food production and thus, maintaining the high population of the nation.
In Great Britain, there have been excavations, building and movements by people with a significant impact being with the onset of the Industrial Revolution coinciding with the greenhouse gases increasing in the atmosphere. The transformation of Great Britain has been influenced by economic development. In the historical Industrial Revolution, Great Britain had factories, railroads and canals built to accommodate the growing population of urban life (Price et al.). As these expanded with the markets, there was need for more resources from the natural environment intensifying the environmental transformation. Mines were built to mine coal which was in turn used in heating water for steam power. However, due to floods, mining became a problem. Coal in the Industrial Revolution brought on the economic boom of Great Britain.
It is thus obvious...